UL's Marlin Tabbed Man of the Year

Indianapolis (IN) -- Bob Marlin has flown under the radar for much of his coaching career, but the sustained excellence he's generated and the classy way he's gone about doing it made him an easy choice for the 2010 Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award.

In 12 years at Sam Houston State, Marlin logged a 225-131 record, six 20-win seasons and two NCAA Tournament appearances. He is one of only two coaches in the history of the Southland Conference to post more than 200 coaching victories.

Marlin became the new head coach of the Ragin' Cajuns on Monday, March 29.

"It's a great honor," Marlin stated. "To be recognized alongside the best in college basketball is very special.

"This award caps a stellar career at Sam Houston State, but I can't wait to get back to Louisiana and start working for the Ragin' Cajuns. There is a lot of work to be done and it starts on Tuesday morning."

Under Marlin this past season, SHSU clinched the Southland Conference regular season and league tournament titles to advance to the NCAA Tournament as well as winning a school-record 25 games. His Bearkats gave eventual Elite Eight team Baylor all it could handle in the first round of the NCAA Tournament before succumbing by a 68-59 count.

The Skip Prosser Award was established in 2008 to honor recipients who not only achieve success on the basketball court but who display moral integrity off of it as well. Prosser posted a career record of 291-146 in 14 seasons as a head coach. During his time at Wake Forest, his teams averaged 21 wins per season while playing in arguably the nation's most difficult league, the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The Citadel's Ed Conroy was the winner of the 2009 award and Notre Dame's Mike Brey won the inaugural award in 2008. This year's award was presented at a banquet on Friday in Indianapolis.